I've been involved in social activism my entire life, and I would argue that many people involved in social activist movements have done very little work on themselves.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of personal growth alongside social activism.
Eve Ensler highlights a common tendency among social activists to focus on changing the world while neglecting their own personal development. She argues that true effectiveness in activism comes not only from fighting for social causes but also from self-awareness and self-improvement, suggesting that inner work is essential for meaningful external change.
In practice
In a speech about leadership, one might quote this to inspire others to prioritize personal growth.
Dancing insists we take up space, and though it has no set direction, we go there together. Dance is dangerous, joyous, sexual, holy, disruptive, and contagious and it breaks the rules. It can happen anywhere, at anytime, with anyone and everyone, and it's free. Dance joins us and pushes us to go further and that is why it's at the center of ONE BILLION RISING.
Before cancer, I was obviously disconnected. I had a tumor the size of a mango inside me and didn't do anything about it. It wasn't like I didn't know something was wrong.
It's a weird thing about the truth: It protects you. What really makes you vulnerable is when you're lying because you're going to get caught. When you tell the truth, there's a strange relief that comes.
Well, the tyranny of masculinity and the tyranny of patriarchy I think has been much more deadly to men than it has to women. It hasn’t killed our hearts. It’s killed men’s hearts. It’s silenced them, it’s cut them off.
Why are women immobile? Because so many feel like they’re waiting for someone to say, "You’re good, you’re pretty, I give you permission."
Security is elusive. It's impossible. We all die. We all get old. We all get sick. People leave us. People change us. Nothing is secure.
The fastest way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be.
Growth is a painful process._x000D_ If we’re ever going to collectively begin to grapple with the problems that we have collectively, we’re going to have to move back the veil and deal with each other on a more human level.
We all know that a winter scene, though it may be covered over one day, with even the trees dressed in shawls of snow, will be unrecognizable the following spring. Yet I never imagined such a thing could occur within our very selves.
The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.
It is true that when there's a drone attack, those - that the - the terrorists are killed, it's true. But 500 and 5,000 more people rises against it, and more terrorism occurs, and more - more bomb blasts occurs.
If you want to change attitudes, start with a change in behavior.
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